3 Absolutely Essential Tips For Buying Used JAZZ RECORDS Today

Art Hodes Docot Jazz - Blue Note records 

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Right now there is a resurgence in interest for vinyl records. Amidst all of the genres that you can look at, jazz is a premier one. Collectors in this genre aren't just willing to buy new recordings, they are willing to shell out a lot of money for a good condition vintage record. Not just from the mainstays in the genre, but also rarities, singles, and a lot more. If it's in good condition, chances are that a collector will want to spend upwards of thousands of dollars to get their hands on it. If you're one of the many fans of this musical genre, or perhaps you want to buy records for fun and profit, then you need to adhere to these 3 tips.

Know The Value of The Record

First and foremost, you should know the inherent value of a recording. You can go to a variety of locations to do this, but chances are you will not find accurate data. The best way to gauge public interest and sales price for you to move forward will be to search auctions. When you search auctions, look for the ended listings, and see what the top price paid for each item you want to buy, or sell. Keep tabs on the shifts in price, and see what a premium, mint condition album was sold for. Once you know that, you will be able to determine whether or not it's worth picking up or it's best to focus on another option.

Dixieland Jubilee Records
78rpm disc label
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Look For Grading Protocol

Every piece of vinyl from the jazz age will have a grading if sold. These range from Near Mint (NM) to Good (G) and beyond. These are important. You need to know how conservative a seller is in regards to this. Sometimes, when you're purchasing items online or in stores, you will find that they list things based on their perceptions, and therefore, you may be buying wax that has fine lines, scratches, scuffs, and a lot more. Grading protocol shifts depending on a variety of different factors, so make sure that you take time to really understand this for the albums you want to buy.

Look At Thrift Stores

In recent years, the amount of records that have landed into thrift stores has grown exponentially. If you're serious about finding some long lost and loved treasures, this is where to look. Thrift stores are notorious for not organizing, caring for, or pricing records. The clerks just don't know a lot about what they have on their hands, so you could turn a one-dollar investment into a thousand dollar one, if you know what jazz artist you're looking for and the records they've put out.

These tips are meant to help you get some used recordings for cheap. Of course, you could always go to a flea market, used music store, or just about anywhere media is sold. Chances are you can find great things for a discounted rate, if you just keep searching.

By Jorge Orduna Sell Out Records is a music blog that aims to review just about every record possible. If you're looking for music conversation, reviews, notes, and more, check out the constant stream of updates on Sell Out Records HERE and discover new and used music from past, present, and future. Article Source: EzineArticles

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Origins of JAZZ MUSIC

There are a lot of people nowadays who enjoy great jazz music. In fact, almost every home has somebody who loves to listen to its cool rhythm and its moving beat. However, jazz music did not come along that easy since it all started. In fact, based on the origin of jazz, this type of music genre had its share of low times before it hit the popularity spot. While jazz is now being enjoyed by a lot of people, there was a time in its history when it was not as accepted as it is today.

Photo  by    FaceMePLS   (cc)

Somehow, the popularity of jazz or its unpopularity at the onset had to do with its being clearly identified as black music. But now, when the issues of racial discrimination is slowly starting to wane, anyone can say that jazz music, which is being played not only by black people but also by white, is here to stay.

In general, the origin of jazz was believed to have started in New Orleans before it spread to Chicago and then on to Kansas City, then to New York City and finally the West Coast area. Both the vocals and the instrumental sides of the blues are known to be essential components that we can still predominantly see in this music genre today. There have been and there still are many types of the genre and this was all started with the ragtime that officially started in New Orleans or what is also known as the Dixieland jazz. Then, after this, there came the swing jazz, which was also known as the bop or bebop. Cool or progressive jazz followed thereafter, which was also then succeeded by the hard bop or the neo-bop.

Then, there was the third stream and the mainstream modern and the jazz type that a lot of people like to dance, which is the Latin jazz. Of course, rock and roll also made its influence on this music genre with the coming out of the jazz rock, which was followed lastly by the avant-garde or what is commonly known as the free jazz.

The origin of jazz actually started out in the later years of the 19th century and this was derived from the work songs of the blacks, their sorrow songs, their field shouts, their hymns and their spiritual songs, the melodic, rhythmic and harmonic elements of which were seen to have been dominated by African influence. However, because it was seen as a music genre that was improvisational, emotional and spontaneous in nature and because it was mainly associated with the blacks, jazz did not garner the level of recognition that it deserved.

It was the European audiences that showed warmer reception to jazz, making the jazz musicians of America go to this country to work on their trade. Jazz only gained a wider audience when adaptations or imitations of it were made by white orchestras. It was in the later part of the 1930's when it was known to have become a legitimate entertainment and this was when Benny Goodman initiated concerts at the Carnegie hall of groups having mixed racial origins.

By Ian Pennington Ian Pennington is an accomplished niche website developer and author. Article Source: EzineArticles

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CHARLIE PARKER Bio Alto SAXOPHONIST Legend

Alto saxophonist Charlie Parker was one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. Known also as Yardbird, or simply Bird, Charlie was an early bebop pioneer; many of his songs remain standards to this day.

It might surprise you, but Charlie Parker started playing the saxophone at age 11, but wasn't a child prodigy by any stretch of the imagination. He joined the school band at age 14, and by one account, was kicked out because of his bad playing as a result of his lack of formal training. Charlie didn't let setbacks bother him though, and an in interview once said that for three to four years he practiced 15 hours a day. Part of this practice regime included playing the blues songs he learned in all 12 keys. During this time, Parker's improvisational skill flourished, and he began to develop some of the musical ideas that would give birth to bebop.

"Charlie Parker, Tommy Potter, Miles Davis, Max Roach (Gottlieb 06941)" by William P. Gottlieb -  Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

In the late thirties, Charlie played with local jazz bands in the Kansas City area. Ensembles led by Count Basie and Bennie Moten were popular in the area around this time and influenced Charlie's playing. By 1938 Charlie Parker had joined pianist Jay McShann's band, Jay McShann's Territory Band. The band played all over the southwest and occasionally travelled to bigger markets such as Chicago and New York.

It was with Jay McShann that Parker would play on his first professional recording. Bird moved to New York in 1939 and took a job as a dishwasher at Jimmy's Chicken Shack to supplement the income he made with Jay McShann's Territory Band. Pianist Art Tatum frequently played at the venue and his use of fast paced arpeggios would have an influence of Parker's playing.

In 1942 Charlie Parker left Jay's band to play with Earl Hines' band. A band that included Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet. A musician's strike from 1942-1943 has made it difficult to document much of what happened during that period. We do know, however, that in that year Paker played with a group of young musicians who embraced the new bebop form of jazz. This group of musicians included not only Parker and Gillespie but other soon to be legends, such as Thelonious Monk, Charlie Christian and Kenny Clarke.

During these formative years of the genre, most of the older, established jazz musicians did not embrace it. Some, however, such as Coleman Hawkins and Benny Goodman, appreciated the new art form, playing and recording with bebop stylists. The genre which Charlie Parker all but invented, had arrived.

Charlie was famous for showing up to gigs without an instrument and borrowing one from somebody else at the last minute. For this reason, he could be seen playing many different makes and models of sax. These include Conn 6Ms, Selmer model 22s, and 26s, and even a Grafton plastic saxophone. In 1947 he had a King Super 20 made exclusively for him. He seemed to prefer Brilhart mouthpieces, having used both Ebolin and Tonalin Streamlines. According to rumor he used hard Rico reeds early in his career but later switched to a 2 ½ in the fifties.

By Neal Battaglia Are you into sax improvisation? Learn more about Saxophone Improv at Sax Station! Article Source: EzineArticles

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JAZZ: The Growth of Contemporary Jazz Music

Born in the early 20th century in African American cultures, jazz is a musical style that has developed and evolved all different genres of music. Dating from early 1910s to the 1990s, jazz has contributed to the growth of music. Sparking a rise to a variety of music styles, the spread of jazz across the world influenced trends from early New Orleans Dixieland styles to Latin Afro-Cuban even playing a part in the development of funk and hip hop in the 1990s.

Wayman Tisdale and Dave Koz at the Dave Koz & Friends Smooth Jazz Cruise 2006
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Aside from playing a part in the growth of subgenres, jazz within itself has been influenced by a variety of musical genres. Most commonly the trends of R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles helped shape jazz fusion into what we know to be smooth jazz. With tracks of encoded rhythms and downtempo beats, smooth jazz is often confused with styling of contemporary jazz music. A modern growth is urban contemporary jazz, which slot in aspects of hip-hop; which is intended for listeners who would normally listen to radio stations that play an assortment of hip-hop and R&B. While smooth jazz is soft and mellow is content; contemporary jazz music is blunter and grabs the attention of its listeners.

Among the players who commonly perform free jazz are Dave Koz, Boney James, Paul Jackson Jr., Nick Colionne, Bobby Perry, Urban Jazz Coalition, Streetwize, and Tha' Hot Club. As well as other free jazz artists such as Bob Baldwin, Michael Lington, Brian Bromberg, David Lanz, Bobby Ricketts, Kim Waters, Daniele Caprelli, Ken Navarro, Walter Beasley, and Peter White. As popularity for late night radio airplay throughout the years grew; doors where open for contemporary jazz music artist like Kenny G, David Sanborn, the late George Howard, George Benson, Marc Antoine, Bradley Joseph and contemporary jazz flautist Najee. These modern jazz musicians had a tendency to play their instruments in at such a harmonious frequency that it was rare for the measures to go un-noticeable.

The free jazz radio arrangement, which commonly played fifteen-minute sets involving instrumentals wrapping a vocal song or two continued to grow and flourish over the 1990s and early 2000s. In the late 2000s, most markets began losing jazz stations and in a variety of media markets, this arrangement does no longer exist over the air except online or on HD Radio.

By 2009, as contemporary jazz remained on its persistent decline on the syndicated radio airwaves, an increasing number of non-commercial stations have grown an interest in the music and began to add it to their programming.

More recently contemporary jazz music downloads, in opposition to radio, has been at high volumes on iTunes. If you find these artist to be of interest, Richard Brown is must have in your collection. With hits like “It’s A Boy” and “My Heart” from his new cd “Dreams” flautist songwriter Richard Brown has a unique flute style. You can hear some of his songs from the album “Dreams” by logging on to www.flautist.us. Even receive a free contemporary jazz music download.

Submitted by: Andrea Harris Source: www.isnare.com Permanent Link: https://www.isnare.com/?aid=882246&ca=Entertainment

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THELONIUS MONK - One of the Pioneers of Bebop

From amongst all the jazz legends and pop legendary pianists, Thelonious Monk is most known for what can be called 'straight forward jazz'. Born Thelonious Sphere Monk on the 10th of October 1917, Monk began playing the piano at the tender age of nine. Most of what he knew on the piano was self taught in addition to the tricks he learned while slyly dropping in on his elder sister Marian's piano classes and a little formal training.

Thelonious Monk, Minton's Playhouse, New York, ca. September 1947.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He dropped out of Stuyvesant High School where he was doing his schooling to start playing the piano professionally. He toured with an evangelist for whose meetings he played the church organ. In his later teens, he got gigs playing jazz piano. He was the house pianist at a club - Minton's Playhouse - in the early 40's. His influences at the time were most the stride pianists of the era - Duke Ellington, James P Johnson and the likes.

His trademark style of playing was something that he polished incessantly during the cutting competitions that took place at the club late at night featuring all the piano greats of the time. His stint at Minton's Playhouse brought him in touch with the other exponents of Bebop - Charlie Christian, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Kenny Clarke. It is this period of time that the bebop style of playing was created . He influenced the the bebop style of playing so much that he has arguably been referred to as the founder of bebop.

Monk then moved on to playing for groups. His first ever studio recording was made featuring the Coleman Hawkins quartet in 1944. He became the leader of the Blue Note three years later. His recordings with Blue Note displayed his penchant for coming up with composing music with strong melodies. The same year saw his marriage to Nellie Smith, with whom he had two children. His son TS Monk was born in 1949. He is a jazz drummer, composer and band leader. His daughter Barbara was born in 1953.

In 1951, Monk ran into trouble with the police. A car in which he and fellow pianist Bud Powell was found to contain narcotics. During the trial against Bud Powell, he refused serve as witness testifying against Bud Powell. As a result, his New York City Cabaret Card was taken away by the police. Thus not being able to play in New York where there was liquor being served. He continued to play in other places though.

He continued recording, touring and composing. After his contract with Blue Note Records lapsed, he moves to prestige records. At Prestige, he recorded some not-so-successful but critically acclaimed albums with Sonny Rollins on saxophone and Art Blakey on drums. It was around this time that the famous Christmas Eve sessions were recorded which were released in the form of the two albums - The Modern Jazz Giants and Bags Groove and Miles Davis - both of these by Miles Davis.

He visited Europe in 1954. He went to Paris to record and perform. He met jazz patron and member of the Rothschild family, Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, with whom he struck a friendship that lasted his life long.

Though Monk was well recognized in jazz circles by his contemporaries and the jazz audience , his records didn't sell as well. He shifted from Prestige Records to Riverside Records, who bought out his contract. In an effort to get the masses in tune with his style of music (which was thought to be too difficult at the time for the average listener), Riverside asked him to record an album two album of his own versions of the jazz standards of the time.

Thus Thelonious Monk Plays Duke Ellington was released with the intention of increasing Monk's market. The album has Duke Wellington's tunes redone by Monk for which he had to study Duke Ellington's pieces from scratch. On his next release, Brilliant Corners, he got a chance to actually record his own tunes. Expectedly the title track of the album was so difficult that it had to be put together from a total of three takes. Sony Rollins accompanied him on the album.

By Duane Shinn A free email newsletter on exciting piano chords and chord progressions from Duane Shinn is available free at Best Piano Lessons Article Source: EzineArticles

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JAZZ: The Forbidden Music

There was a time in history when Jazz the music was banned during World War II when it was considered a plight for freedom against Hitler's Nazi regime due to what it represents. Jazz music is the product of America that was creatively invented by African American from culture, and all the elements of the American life that influenced this style of music.

King & Carter Jazzing Orchestra, Houston Texas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jazz music is a symbol of freedom, hope and the ability of express ones self in through one of best art forms which is music. Meaning, African Americans fought oppression  since the beginning of slavery, and Jazz music represented that resistance.  Jazz music has a foundation of the basic rules of composition, but it has since expanded its way toward newer forms of music.

America who also gained their freedom from Europe joined showed their patriarchy by listening to the Jazz music on records and on the radio to encourage their fellow Americans to believe in their country, and the freedom it stands for. Hollywood, celebrity musicians and Jazz musicians even supported freedom by joining patriotic films to get their point across to the world. This act caused Hitler and Stalin to fear the effect Jazz music would have on all who listens who could easily be influenced by the idea of freedom, and patriotism.

In the year 1921 there were Americans who did not favor Jazz music or the Jazz dance. There were activist who stated that Jazz is a type of menace that is worse that alcohol, and that it would be better to wipe Jazz out of existence. In Germany, Jazz and all other American music was banned in the country before and after Americans joined the war. Stalin forbid the playing of Jazz music at the end of the 1945 war throughout the Soviet Union, and banned the use of saxophones. Jazz was called "the music of blacks by Hitler as a reason for the prohibition of Jazz music. Nevertheless, Jazz music was embraced by all who heard it around the globe.

In fact, It was adored by those who supported the resistance of such a war. In the area of Azerbaijan the year of the 1950's produced even more forbidden Jazz music into a new style of Jazz known as Mugam that came  from the Baku style of music. The sound of Jazz produces an atmosphere of relaxation and freedom that even spread to Algeria who wrote a form of Jazz that spread all around their country and in Europe known as Rai in the late 1960's. Though there were many haters of Jazz music who forbid the use of it those who understood loved it.

Those who did not like Jazz wrote books on it titled "Vo do do de o Blues" against Jazz and blues. Another title was "Anti rag time girl" about a lady who hates Jazz music. However,  when the underground clubs broke the law discreetly to make a home for jazz in Speakeasies they also spread the gospel of Jazz music all around the world.  

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ART BLAKEY

The beginning  career of jazz music legend Art Blakey was amazing. He took piano lessons at school. When he was in the seventh grade he played music full-time and was leading a popular band. Not too long after, he started playing drums in the style of such players as Ray Bauduc, Chick Webb and Sid Catlett. He taught himself how to play.

Art Blakey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He played with Mary Lou Williams at Kelly's Stable in 1942. Next, with Fletcher Henderson for the next two years, and he toured with. Art then went to Boston to lead a big band, then joined Billy Eckstine's band in St. Louis. Art stayed with that band from 1944-1947.

Art was considered to be among jazz music's finest musicians such as Fats Navarro, Miles Davis and Dexter Gordon. In 1947 when Eckstine's band broke up, Art started the Seventeen Messengers. He would go on to have several other groups with this same name. He then went to Africa to learn all about Islamic people for over a year. By the 1950's he performed with Clifford Brown, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Horace Silver.

After they performed together many times, he started another group with Horace which included Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley with the name Jazz Messengers. Horace left a year later.  He was the known leader of the band. The Jazz Messengers played hard-bop jazz music. The roots of which were blues music. Hard bop is a mixture of bebop with gospel and soul music. An example of this is his album Moanin' recorded on Blue Note Records in 1958. They fought hard to keep black people interested in jazz, when the ballroom  jazz music disappeared. Many young musicians during the years have been influenced by this style. Jazz musicians such as Keith Jarrett, JoAnne Brackcen, Woody Shaw , Donald Byrd, Delfeayo, Branford  and Wynton Marsalis.

In 1971 to 1972, Art world toured with the biggest names in jazz music such as Kai Winding, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk. He also performed a lot at the Newport Jazz Festival. The best performance was when he was in a battling performance with Buddy Rich, Max Roach and Elvin Jones in 1974. Art continued to tour nonstop with help from Donald Harrison and Terence Blanchard, along with younger musicians such as Benny Green.

Art never thought of his music as similar to African style, although he did use some of their techniques such as using his elbow on the tom-tom to alter pitch. His trademark, the forced closing of the hi-hat on each second and fourth beat was created in 1950-1951, which many jazz musicians copied.

A major jazz musician and innovative in his drum style, he was unique and performed with power. The way he played was loud and aggressive. The jazz critics basically ignored what he did in the 1960's. American audiences  left him behind in the 1970's when rock music took over the scene.

He always made time for young jazz musicians, listening to them, and helping them with their jazz music careers.

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The Different Styles Of JAZZ

Do you love listening to that smooth, toe-tapping music we call jazz? Do you love to dance with your significant other to the sounds of Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, or Duke Ellington?

Duke Ellington, a famous jazz musician, poses with his piano at the KFG Radio Studio
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While it’s undoubtedly cool to use words like ‘Swing’, ‘Bebop’ or ‘Bossa Nova’ when describing a jazz style, not very many people really know the difference between Hot Jazz, Classic Jazz or Afro-Cuban Jazz. If you don't know the difference between one style of jazz and another, this article is for you. Read on if you want to up your cool quotient while discussing Hot Jazz:

Classic Jazz: More popularly called ‘New Orleans jazz’ because of its origins, classic jazz originated in the late 1800’s - early 1900’s with brass bands performing for dances and parties using an assortment of musical instruments including the trombone, saxophone, tuba, clarinet, cornet, guitar, bass, drums and cornet. At the time, musical arrangements varied significantly from one performance to another.

Hot Jazz: Pioneered by Louis Armstrong, hot jazz was characterized by improvised solos that built up to an emotional and ‘hot’ crescendo that was supported by bass, drums and guitar or banjo.

Chicago Style Jazz: If New Orleans was the birth place of jazz, Chicago was the breeding ground. Several young, dynamic players including Bud Freeman, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa and Eddie Condon significantly furthered jazz improvisations with a combination of high technical ability and harmonic, innovative arrangements.

Swing: During the classic 1930’s, most Jazz groups were Big Bands who played a robust and invigorating version of Classic Jazz. More popularly called Swing, for the first time jazz was used as dance music. Many of the most famous musicians the world has every heard were swing jazz musicians. The famous jazz swing players include people such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, The Dorsey Brothers, Glenn Miller, and Louis Armstrong, to name a few. Of course, the genre of ballroom dance called swing grew out of jazz swing music.

Bebop: Immortalized by trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker who engaged in chordal improvisations, Bebop was a complete deviation from mainstream jazz that was typically derived from the melodic line.

Bossa Nova: Initiated as “Brazilian jazz” by Brazilian’s Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto, Bossa Nova is a blend of seductive Brazilian samba rhythms, classical European harmonies and West Coast cool. Adopting the Bossa Nova style, West Coast saxophonist Stan Getz and guitarist Charlie Byrd gave this jazz form a huge boost in the United States around 1962.

Afro-Cuban Jazz: Also known as Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz can be traced back to percussionist Chano Pozo and trumpeter- arranger Mario Bauza. Characterized by its highly infectious rhythms combined with Jazz improvisations, Afro-Cuban jazz is typically played using rhythm instruments including bongo, timbale, conga along with assorted Latin percussion instruments and is often accompanied by guitar or piano and joined by vocals or horns.

Now that you know what the different types of jazz music are, you can speak intelligently about the music that you love! So get out there and have some great jazzy fun!

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The American Influence Of JAZZ MUSIC

The Jazz music sensation began to rub off on other parts of the world which encourages the experimentation of melding their familiar sounds with the essence of Jazz.  In Europe's country in the Region of France  came the Quintette Du Hot Club de France who was responsible for the making of the early "Gypsy Jazz".

Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson and Timmie Rosenkrantz in September 1947, New York
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Belgian guitarist Django Reinhardt created gypsy jazz  by mixing the style of French Musette which was used in the dance halls, eastern European Folk known as Jazz Manouche, and American swing of the 1930's. The sound was developed by instruments from the string family which are a steel string guitar, violin, and an upright bass. The atmosphere of the Jazz music is seductive with sudden unpredictable twists, and accelerating rhythms. The French artist Bireli Lagrene plays this unique music with old elements of the past.

Another style of Jazz music that allowed the musicians to express themselves freely was the invention of Avant-garde or free Jazz music.  Both of these styles stemmed from the Bebop era, yet produced a relaxed form of harmonic and rhythmic music in the 1940's and 1950's. The musicians John Coltrane, Dewey Redman, Charles Mingus, Sun Ra, Sam Rivers, Ornette Coleman and many more were the creators of the free Jazz music. Between the 1960's and 1970's the Latin musicians created the Afro-Cuban and Brazilian Jazz Music styles after Bebop musicians Dizzy Gillespie and Billy Taylor cultivated it.

Gillespie and Taylor was influenced by the music of Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians Chico O'farrill, Tito Puente, Chano Pozo, Xavier Cugat, Mario Bauza and Arturo Sandoval. Jazz music expressed in a Latin interpretation was termed Bossa Nova with origins in Samba music which is a mixture of Jazz, classical and pop music from the 20th century.  Bossa is a moderate sound of music with Classical harmonic structure from Europe, Samba polyrhythm's from Brazil and cool music. The tempo of such a work is about 120 beats per minute. The instruments used in this particular sound is nylon stringed guitar, piano, high hat tap of eighths, tapping on the rim of the drum like Sade's "Sweetest Taboo", and a vocalist.  The sound produced is a new relaxing sound where the acoustic sound of the guitar can lull one to sleep with it's easy melodic line.

Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim became popular in the sixties with this style of music. The influence of Jazz music returned to the place of its origins in the religious music known as Urban Contemporary Gospel from the spirituals music. Much of spiritual music sung by southern slaves in the past has a haunting dark and mournful sound during the 1800 and 1900's. The churches know as the sanctified or holy churches took a more happier approach by encouraging member to sing speak their  personal testimonies as they celebrated with song and dance.

The sanctified artist Arizona Dranes  who was a traveling pastor made recordings that would fit in many musical categories such as  blues, and  boogie-woogie with the use of Jazz instruments. At the time the Jazz instruments used with religious themed music were percussion and brass instruments.

Jazz Gets Contemporary With ACID JAZZ

I think anyone and everyone that likes music, or who has a particular musical genre preference, can admit that sometimes the same music gets stale. You hear the same songs over and over again and begin to feel your passion slowly slip away. For me, this means that it is time to search for new avenues. So, the question that is presented to you here is do you need to update your jazz selection?

 Erykah Badu (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Many people may not realize how much jazz has to offer. There are so many branches that your search may possibly be endless. An excellent contemporary category of jazz is acid jazz. Do not underestimate the awesome power that acid jazz possesses.

Now, you may be wondering, “What exactly is acid jazz?” Acid jazz combines different musical elements and instruments to create a unique blend of jazz, electronic and even hip hop at times. This does not mean that the genre lacks the same soul you would find in traditional jazz tunes. Just the opposite! In fact, Roy Ayers and Donald Byrd are credited as precursors to the acid jazz movement.

Even though the genre possesses a variety of instruments, including many that are electronic, artists still play live shows. This allows more room for creativity and free flowing sound since the songs are easy to manipulate while performing. Traditional jazz instruments are still incorporated in this genre.

One accredited artist that fits this category and is held in high esteem is Jamiroquai. As a prominent figure in the acid jazz community, Jamiroquai began their journey as artists in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. The most famous of their songs, “Virtual Insanity,” hit the charts and was a number one across the globe. Other notable artists that fit into this category that can be mentioned are Erik Truffaz, Erykah Badu, Incognito, and Groove Collection.

While this genre is thought by many to be genius, it is difficult for traditional jazz listeners to dig into these futuristic sounds. The argument is that acid jazz does not possess the same soul and groove that traditional jazz offers. Others dare to say that acid jazz offers just the same things as classic jazz since its forerunners were one in the same. Instead of debating, just let your ears settle the argument for arguments’ sake. Of course we are all allowed to have our own opinions, but it never hurts to keep an open mind and consider new avenues. If you were or are a fan of jazz-funk, jazz-house, and jazz-fusion, you will love exploring this genre further. Take a look at different artists to explore the variety of sounds that is this wonderful musical creation.

For more information or for questions on buying or selling used Jazz, Acid Jazz and any other genre of music CDs, visit www.used-jazz.com. If you have any questions please email at customerservice@secondspin.com.

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JAZZ as DANCE

While few people understand the true origins of Jazz as a music form, fewer people still understand the origins of jazz as a style of dance. Jazz is very much a fatherless child. More than that however, jazz as music and dance seem to have many mothers despite the fact that they have no father. By this I mean that there are many influences to this colorful form of music and dance though no one influence is notable enough in the new creation to be considered the 'father' or 'mother' for that matter of jazz.

Jazz dancers adapted from flickr photo by Alvaro Arriagada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Though jazz has many supposed birth places it really only has one true home and that home would be New Orleans. Much like the music this city is famous for, New Orleans is a city without a father too. New Orleans was a melting pot in the truest sense of the word before we had any real clue what it meant to be a melting pot. From the influences of the French, Spanish, German, English, and of course the population of former slaves and black free men and women, New Orleans was the perfect place for this blended and mixed style of music and dance to call home.

It is no wonder that jazz dance emerged as the result of jazz music. There are simply no adequate dance steps for the delightful music we have come to know over the years as jazz. For this reason something new and a little bit off the main path was needed in order to keep time and pace with the new music that was emerging.

As a style of dance, jazz was much more 'brazen' than dances in the past had been and in some circles considered to be singly unseemly. Polite society certainly had no interest in this particular form of dance. The good news for those who enjoyed this style of dance is that there were plenty of places in which jazz, as a form of dance and music, was readily embraced. You had to go off the beaten path a little in order to find it but for many it was well worth the effort.

Jazz music and dance was popular for quite a while and then seemed to go underground except in cities such as Memphis, New Orleans, Kansas City, and St. Louis where it was an ingrained part of the history and culture. We have seen a reemergence of this once popular style of music and dance in recent years however with some notable musicians bringing back the swing and 'big band' sound that went hand in hand with jazz as both a music form and a style of dance.

You should understand however, that when it comes to jazz dance, much like the music, there are no definitive rules that you must follow in order for it to be jazz. There are no rigid dance steps that must be adhered to for the 'jazz' effect. Jazz dance is often confused as 'tap dance' because tap music was often set to jazz music. It is important however to realize that jazz isn't limited to tap dance and that other styles of dance fall under the rather large umbrella of 'jazz dance'.

Some of the more common jazz dances include: Black Bottom, Boogie Woogie, the Cakewalk, the Charleston, the Jitterbug, the Lindy Hop, and swing dancing. Each of these styles of dance seems to be making a rather remarkable comeback in popularity over the course of the last two decades and are very interesting to watch, as well as in which to participate should you ever have the opportunity.

If you have considered jazz dance lessons for you or your children, I hope you will decide to indulge. Not only is the music for this type of dance excellent and uplifting but also the style of dance in and of itself is quite fun and enjoyable. There are very few styles of dance that can compete when it comes to allowing artistic license, going with the flow, and simply dancing for the sheer joy of dancing. As an art form and as a form of entertainment jazz music and dance are tops in my book.

JAZZ MUSICIANS and the Art of Transcribing Jazz Solos

Head and shoulders portrait of jazz musician
Louis Armstrong. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Every great jazz musician has, at one time or another, transcribed jazz solos from recordings.  Since jazz is an art from that is aural in nature, it makes complete sense that listening and copying the improvisations of earlier jazz masters helps one become a more consistent and skilled jazz improviser.

Transcribing a jazz solo involves the repetitive listening and notation of a recorded jazz solo.  To get maximum benefit from the process, the person studying the solo through transcription should memorize and internalize every note and every inflection played by the improviser.  "Transcribing" refers to the activity of notating on paper the exact notes and rhythms played by the improviser.

Evolving Technologies of Transcribing Jazz Solos

Charlie Parker could arguably be called the most influential jazz artist of the 20th century. His inventive jazz improvisations changed the face of jazz and ushered in one of the most exciting eras of jazz: the bebop era.

Charlie Parker was born with a huge amount of natural talent, but that does not mean Charlie never worked hard at his honing his craft.  History reveals that Charlie spent almost a year early on in his music career memorizing - note by note - the jazz solos of Lester Young from 78 RPM recordings.

Before jazz became widely available on 78 RPM recordings, musicians relied on listening and learning in "real time".  The only way to learn jazz improvisation in the early days of jazz was to listen to live musicians and pick up what you could from what they played.  Once played however, the music was gone forever.

I Remember Charlie Parker
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

During the 1920s, artists such Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and many others began recording their music and jazz improvisations onto 78 RPM acetone discs.  This leap in technology opened the door for future musicians to "study" the improvisations of their jazz predecessors.

The 1950s saw the introduction of reel to reel tape machines and ultimately cassette tape recordings. Magnetic tape made it possible for jazz musicians to forward and rewind the tape to exact locations of solos and specific passages of a solo.  No longer did musicians have to "drop the needle" on worn out discs to learn a solo or tune.  Some cassette tape players were made specifically for musicians, allowing them to slow down parts or all of a recording at half or quarter speed.  This proved to be helpful, but slowing down analog tape created problems with pitch and fidelity that was annoying to say the least.

In recent years, computers have assisted jazz musicians transcribe recordings in ways that were once considered impossible.  Inexpensive or free computer programs have made it possible to slow down fast passages without changing fidelity or pitch.  Other advantages of computer assisted transcription include the ability to change key, precise looping of passages for ease in learning, and even help with notating pitches that are played.

By James P Martin Transcribing and studying great jazz solos can be one of the smartest and beneficial activities any jazz musician can undertake to help hone his or her craft.  Even with the marvels of modern technology, the process still takes time and effort however.  Don't forget to use the knowledge and skills you acquire from transcribing jazz solos to performing with live musicians.  Nothing will replace the experience of playing jazz with others! PDF big band, combo and vocal charts by top jazz writers are available at http://www.pdfjazzmusic.com - all for less than twenty bucks. Article Source: EzineArticles

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